Visa and residence permits for humanitarian reasons in Spain require a demanding process. The procedure can be cumbersome to obtain a visa or residence permit due to humanitarian circumstances in Spain.

The granting of residence permits for humanitarian reasons is contemplated in the Asylum Law and also in the Regulation of Organic Law 4/2000, on the Rights and Freedoms of Foreigners in Spain and their Social Integration (Article 31.3). The current regulations establish a total of 5 requirements for the Government of Spain to grant a visa or residence permit to applicants for humanitarian reasons.

Ndiaga D. (Senegal) comes to us and tells us that he has just undergone a kidney transplant and that he has no residence permit in Spain. The post treatment and recovery time that he would need after the transplant prevented him from obtaining a residence permit through a job offer. He was in a very critical situation after the transplant surgery and needed to have tests done every week.

According to data from the Ministry of Interior of Spain, between the months of January and August, the Office of Asylum and Refuge (OAR) submitted a total of 24.645 files to the Interministerial Commission for Asylum and Refuge (twice as many as were resolved during 2018 (12.889).

In 2018, 12.899 applications were submitted between January and December, that is, an average of approximately 1.074 per month.

The challenge

When we find cases that are not contemplated in the immigration regulations of Spain, the challenge is to find a way to help someone who is in a very vulnerable personal situation. Our main objective was for Ndiaga to obtain a residence permit which would allow him to concentrate his efforts on his own health and recovery with dignity. The lack of a residence permit would mean the risk of starting an "expulsion file" on his behalf, and this process would hinder and compromise the healing process for Ndiaga.

The Government of Spain establishes a total of 5 requirements that must be met by any person applying for a visa or humanitarian residence permit. The first is not to be a citizen of a State of the European Union, of the European Economic Area or of Switzerland (as well as a relative of citizens of these countries to which the regime of citizen of the Union applies).

It is also essential to lack a criminal record in Spain and in their previous countries of residence for crimes existing in the Spanish law. Nor can entry into Spain be prohibited (and not appear as rejectable in the territorial space of countries with which Spain has signed an agreement), nor be, where appropriate, within the commitment period of no return to Spain that the foreigner has assumed by voluntarily returning to their country of origin.

In addition, to all of the above, the applicant must prove any of the following assumptions:

• To be a victim of a crime typified in articles 311 to 315, 511.1 and 512 of the Criminal Code: crimes against workers' rights.
• Being a victim of crimes in which the aggravating circumstance of commission for racist, anti-Semitic or other types of discrimination concerning the ideology, religion or beliefs of the victim, ethnicity, race or nation to which they belong, their sex or sexual orientation, or the illness or disability you suffer from.
• To be a victim of crimes for violent behaviors carried out in the family environment, provided that a judicial resolution has been issued that ends the judicial procedure in which the condition of victim is established.
• Suffering a serious illness that requires specialized health care, not accessible in their country of origin, and that the fact of being interrupted or not receiving it poses a serious risk to health or life.
• That their transfer to the country of origin, for the purpose of applying for the corresponding visa or permit, implies a danger to their safety or that of their family and that they meet the rest of the requirements to obtain a temporary residence or residence and work authorization.

How Did Our Services Help?

We resort to an extraordinary mechanism established in the immigration regulations of Spain, but it implies that the consulate of the country of origin of Ndiaga had to prove that he could not be treated there or receive any specific treatment for transplantation. An accreditation like this is certainly difficult to obtain through the authorities in most countries. However, we obtained documentation proving the limitations for healing in the country of origin, as a result of the perseverance and argumentation provided.

We could also show that Ndiaga could not work, but that he had enough financial means to reside in Spain.

Results obtained

At the end of the entire process of preparation and argumentation of the application for residence in Spain for humanitarian reasons, we were able to obtain the residence permit we wanted for Ndiaga.

After a year, we also assisted him in the renewal of the residence permit, which was also favorable.